15 March 2016 Current Affairs
Myanmar Parliament Elected Htin Kyaw as First Civilian President
Myanmar’s Parliament on 15 March elected Htin Kyaw as the first civilian president to lead the country after 53 years of military rule. Army took power in a 1962 coup. He is a close aide and adviser of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of National League for Democracy (NLD) party. He was elected with 360 of the total 652 votes casted while, military-nominated Myint Swe received 213 votes and stood second followed by the other NLD candidate, Henry Van Thio, who got 79 votes. Kyaw will replace Thein Sein who will step down at the end of March 2016 after five years of army-backed rule.
Lok Sabha Passed Real Estate Bill
Lok Sabha on 15 March passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015. The Bill seeks set up a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) for the orderly growth of the real state sector. The bill aims at protecting the interests of the large number of aspiring house buyers and enhances the credibility of construction industry. Earlier, it was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 10 March 2016.
Pope Announced Mother Teresa To Be Granted Sainthood
Pope Francis on 15 March announced that Mother Teresa will be made a saint of the Roman Catholic Church at a ceremony on 4 September 2016. The pope cleared the way for sainthood to Mother Teresa, who was famed for her lifetime of service to the poor, establishing shelters for homeless, orphanages, soup kitchens and clinics around the world.
Bangladesh Central Bank Governor Resigns
Bangladesh’s central bank Governor Atiur Rahman resigned on 15 March after hackers stole over USD 100 million from the nation’s foreign reserves in what is believed to be the world’s biggest ever bank theft that embarrassed the government. Atiur Rahman resigned over after a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.